Eye doctors pushing daily contacts?

[CurlyQ284]

3 of us wear contacts. He gave me dailies to try, by day 3 I felt like my eyes were sandpaper, they were awful. I asked for my normal contacts and he was really trying to push me for daily lenses.

H and SD have gone for their appointments in the last week, he was pressing for them to get the same ones. H also felt they were horrible and got pushback when he asked for his normal contacts. They are 2x more expensive than our normal contacts and I am suspicious.

Do doctors think they really are better? Or am I right in thinking they are trying to make more money with this?

[shopgirl07]

They really are better for you, less risk of infections, etc. But, yes, so expensive! See if you can get samples of different ones to try. I have dry eye disease and I’ve gone through a few different brands. The ones I have now are amazing.

[CurlyQ284]

Apr 5, 2022 9:53:11 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Did he give you a reason for why he thinks they’re better for you? My doctor switched me to dailies to help with dry eye issues. But I had to experiment with different brands before I found one that was comfortable. Now he actually wants to switch me to medical grade contacts (which are monthlies) but I have severe dry eye problems.

Dailies are just a style of contact lens. There are different manufacturers. By law, you don’t even need to order them from him. I’m hardly an expert, but it seems less likely that he’s getting kickbacks for the type of lens (rather than, say, a particular manufacturer.)

He said its better for dry eyes but I wasnt complaining about my current contacts and they were WAY worse than my current ones. I told him all this and he kept making excuses and still trying to get me to order them and I insisted on my normal ones. H was already using dailies and didn't like them because of dry eye, he looked at his chart and said he wasn't surprised these new ones are so much better.

Then he recommended the exact same ones to H and SD and so now I'm suspicious.

My contacts are "medically necessary" because my prescription is so bad so insurance pays 100%, I wouldn't have had to pay a nothing even though they cost more but H and SD would have.

This is not a new doctor, we've been seeing him since we moved here in 2017 so all the previous lenses he says are horrible are ones he has actually recommended to us in the past lol.

[Susie]

My eye doctor has encouraged them due to dry eye issues, but I have a hard time getting past the waste and environmental impact. I've just started wearing my contacts for shorter days, and my glasses more.  I use Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism which are 2 week lenses.  I used to wear them for like 4 weeks and now actually throw them out every 2.

[InBetweenDays]

Apr 5, 2022 9:53:11 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Did he give you a reason for why he thinks they’re better for you? My doctor switched me to dailies to help with dry eye issues. But I had to experiment with different brands before I found one that was comfortable.

Ditto this.

I switched to Dailies years ago for dry eye issues. I had occasional discomfort but nothing that seemed unusual. But my eye doctor could actually see the effects of the dryness on my eyes during the exam and he was worried about getting abrasions or scratches. He suggested switching to dailies or only wearing my contacts when needed (otherwise wear glasses). So I would say they definitely are better for some people. But not necessarily for everyone.

[thedutchgirl]

There are different ones you can try, and some are a lot better for dry eyes. Also! You don't have to buy through your doctor, though. You can find them a lot cheaper online, particularly if you buy a year's supply.

For what it is worth, I love Alcon Precision 1 dailies.

[cattledogkisses]

I have never had an eye doctor try to push dailies on me. I have had one try to push a specific brand hard (I'd worn the same brand for literally 15 years but he made me try the brand he insisted on before he'd order my normal lenses... I did not go back to him).

If you weren't having issues with your contacts before then I'd push back on them, unless they can give you a concrete medical reason for needing to switch.

[egishere]

My eye Dr has tried to push them but I told them I don't like the price or all the packaging waste.

[icedcoffee]

My eye doctor was pushing me toward them too, but when I told him I was happy with what I had he left it at that. I hate when they get pushy so that would annoy me.

With that said, I got Lasik earlier this year and it's been so much better. One thing I was shocked to learn was that I had a lot of build up of blood cells on my eye from all those contacts and I think dailies are better in that regard. So...that was kind of terrifying to learn.

[wanderingback]

I don’t see how the eye doctor makes money since I’ve always ordered my contacts outside of the eye doctor.

I personally have found daily contacts make my eyes feel much better and that’s generally true for many people since they get less build up on them. I hate the waste but do send/drop off the containers for recycling and hope it’s somewhat helpful.

If they don’t work for your eyes though I would switch to another option that works better.

[dutchgirl678]

I have Alcon Precision 1 dailies as well. I never buy them from the eye doctor though, I get them from Costco. They are about half the price there.

[tacokick]

Do you get your prescriptions filled where you have your exam? Can you if you wanted to? Unlike other doctors, optometrists can make money on both the eye exam and the glasses and contact lenses they sell in-house. Before 2003 they weren’t even legally required to give you your prescription to go elsewhere.

There is a article from a few years ago that touched on this:

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/great-american-eye-exam-scam/602482/

I would not go to a doctor was ignoring what you were telling them. Personally I wear gas perm contacts and love them. They get cleaned at night and last up to two years. I have never had dry eyes issues wearing them like I did when I tried disposables.


ETA: this also made the news. It is a real issue! itif.org/publications/2020/09/21/congress-should-see-through-optometry-lobby-contact-lens-ploy

[pooh8402]

I have dry eyes and my doctors have never pushed dailies on me. I also use Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism and have for years, I don't plan to switch anytime soon. And I use Clear Care solution (has to be name brand) to clean my contacts well and moisturize my lenses. Any other solution just doesn't cut it for me in the long run. I wear glasses like 3 days a week though, so I push my lenses to 4 weeks which I know is not great. My current eye doctor knows this. I'm hoping to get LASIK next year though.

[sofamonkey]

They probably get a kickback for every pair they sell. #eyeballmillionaires

[achi]

I have dry eyes and astigmatism and dailies have never been mentioned other then when I asked about them.

[noodleoo]

Interesting. I've been seeing my eye dr since I was 16 and I love him. He said that he normally recommends his patients switch to dailies when they hit about 40 years old due to dry eye. He said it is part of aging, the eyes get dryer and the dailies end up being more comfortable. The daily contacts are thinner and require less moisture in the eye. I have dry eye, so I switched, but he would have written my Rx for whatever I wanted and he offered samples of several brands before I committed to one. He's an independent optometrist inside a For Eyes, so he writes the RX and then I order through For Eyes or online if I want.

I'd be suspicious though if he's pushing one brand and for your son, who I'm guessing is under 40! If you don't trust him, find a new eye dr. They are really expensive, I only wear them on weekends when I'm out with the kids and want to wear sunglasses, otherwise I wouldn't be buying them. I find my glasses more comfortable than contacts now anyway. I wore regular contacts all day, every day for many years easily and I miss those days!

[CurlyQ284]

Apr 5, 2022 11:14:47 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Do you get your prescriptions filled where you have your exam? Can you if you wanted to? Unlike other doctors, optometrists can make money on both the eye exam and the glasses and contact lenses they sell in-house. Before 2003 they weren’t even legally required to give you your prescription to go elsewhere.

There is a article from a few years ago that touched on this:

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/great-american-eye-exam-scam/602482/

I would not go to a doctor was ignoring what you were telling them. Personally I wear gas perm contacts and love them. They get cleaned at night and last up to two years. I have never had dry eyes issues wearing them like I did when I tried disposables.


ETA: this also made the news. It is a real issue! itif.org/publications/2020/09/21/congress-should-see-through-optometry-lobby-contact-lens-ploy

Yeah we usually get our contacts through the doctors office. H and both SDs also have glasses but they tend to go to the Lenscrafters at the mall because H likes their selection better.

I think I might ask around for recs and switch doctors for next years round of exams. I don't want to have 3 arguments with him every year because he wants us all to wear sandpaper contacts 🤣

[Gato]

I really love my daily lenses; for me they are so much more comfortable than the longer-wearing ones.  But if they don't feel right to you, the doctor shouldn't be pushing.  I get so annoyed by hard-sell tactics, so personally that would make me try a new optometrist.

I recycle all the plastic, but it does seem like a waste.  My optometrist was actually reluctant to prescribe them.  But I used to get eye infections, and now I never do, so for me they are worth it.

[chilerellanos]

I wouldn’t be able to wear contacts anymore if it wasn’t for dailies.

I hate the waste, but my eyes can’t tolerate contacts I clean and replace anymore.

[waverly]

I can't wear contacts properly. For astigmatism, they needed to be weighted and then would move around my eye. Then I tried to get fitted, and found out that they need a special fit. But dailies were most comfortable because I build up a lot of protein on my contacts.

Anyway, if a doctor is not listening to you, I would switch eventually.

[minzy]

Apr 5, 2022 10:50:12 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I hate the waste but do send/drop off the containers for recycling and hope it’s somewhat helpful.

Can I ask where you send your plastic contacts packets? I recall checking with a few manufacturers a couple of years ago and came up empty. I raised the waste issue the last time I had an eye exam, and they likewise had absolutely no info. I know I can’t recycle them locally since they don’t meet our recycling criteria, but I nevertheless have a batch of them tucked away in my bathroom, waiting for the day I find a place to offload them. 😅

[tacokick]

Apr 5, 2022 12:25:20 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Apr 5, 2022 11:14:47 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Do you get your prescriptions filled where you have your exam? Can you if you wanted to? Unlike other doctors, optometrists can make money on both the eye exam and the glasses and contact lenses they sell in-house. Before 2003 they weren’t even legally required to give you your prescription to go elsewhere.

There is a article from a few years ago that touched on this:

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/great-american-eye-exam-scam/602482/

I would not go to a doctor was ignoring what you were telling them. Personally I wear gas perm contacts and love them. They get cleaned at night and last up to two years. I have never had dry eyes issues wearing them like I did when I tried disposables.


ETA: this also made the news. It is a real issue! itif.org/publications/2020/09/21/congress-should-see-through-optometry-lobby-contact-lens-ploy

Yeah we usually get our contacts through the doctors office. H and both SDs also have glasses but they tend to go to the Lenscrafters at the mall because H likes their selection better.

I think I might ask around for recs and switch doctors for next years round of exams. I don't want to have 3 arguments with him every year because he wants us all to wear sandpaper contacts 🤣

Good luck finding someone new! I have def had the experience of eye doctors trying to up sell me over the years. I finally found a great one who is very chill and not focused on sales. They are out there.

[glw]

I have a very strong prescription and have worn 2-week contacts (currently Acuvue Oasys) for 25+ years with no issues. I purchase them online, not through my Dr's office, and he has never pressured me into switching to dailies since my current ones are fine. I would look for another practice.

[wanderingback]

Apr 5, 2022 12:58:34 GMT -5 minzy said:

Apr 5, 2022 10:50:12 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I hate the waste but do send/drop off the containers for recycling and hope it’s somewhat helpful.

Can I ask where you send your plastic contacts packets? I recall checking with a few manufacturers a couple of years ago and came up empty. I raised the waste issue the last time I had an eye exam, and they likewise had absolutely no info. I know I can’t recycle them locally since they don’t meet our recycling criteria, but I nevertheless have a batch of them tucked away in my bathroom, waiting for the day I find a place to offload them. 😅

Before Covid you can send them to Bausch and Lomb, but now you have to look for a local place to recycle them.
Check here: www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/bauschrecycles#@40.77649443450157:-73.95697830534083zoom:17

[Gato]

Apr 5, 2022 12:58:34 GMT -5 minzy said:

Apr 5, 2022 10:50:12 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I hate the waste but do send/drop off the containers for recycling and hope it’s somewhat helpful.

Can I ask where you send your plastic contacts packets? I recall checking with a few manufacturers a couple of years ago and came up empty. I raised the waste issue the last time I had an eye exam, and they likewise had absolutely no info. I know I can’t recycle them locally since they don’t meet our recycling criteria, but I nevertheless have a batch of them tucked away in my bathroom, waiting for the day I find a place to offload them. 😅

I drop them back at my optometrist's; they have a recycling program.  WanderingBack's list looks good - I hope you find a place near you!

[cap]

Apr 5, 2022 10:02:54 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Apr 5, 2022 9:53:11 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Did he give you a reason for why he thinks they’re better for you? My doctor switched me to dailies to help with dry eye issues. But I had to experiment with different brands before I found one that was comfortable. Now he actually wants to switch me to medical grade contacts (which are monthlies) but I have severe dry eye problems.

Dailies are just a style of contact lens. There are different manufacturers. By law, you don’t even need to order them from him. I’m hardly an expert, but it seems less likely that he’s getting kickbacks for the type of lens (rather than, say, a particular manufacturer.)

He said its better for dry eyes but I wasnt complaining about my current contacts and they were WAY worse than my current ones. I told him all this and he kept making excuses and still trying to get me to order them and I insisted on my normal ones. H was already using dailies and didn't like them because of dry eye, he looked at his chart and said he wasn't surprised these new ones are so much better.

Then he recommended the exact same ones to H and SD and so now I'm suspicious.

My contacts are "medically necessary" because my prescription is so bad so insurance pays 100%, I wouldn't have had to pay a nothing even though they cost more but H and SD would have.

This is not a new doctor, we've been seeing him since we moved here in 2017 so all the previous lenses he says are horrible are ones he has actually recommended to us in the past lol.

Just curious - how bad are your eyes and what did you have to do to get contacts deemed medically necessary? I have bad eyes (-9.5 in both) and wearing glasses sucks. I developed allergies in the past couple of years (or maybe I've always had them and I just have more exposure now due to a job change), and using dailies really helps to cut down on my eye symptoms. 

[CurlyQ284]

Apr 5, 2022 14:15:11 GMT -5 cap said:

Apr 5, 2022 10:02:54 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

He said its better for dry eyes but I wasnt complaining about my current contacts and they were WAY worse than my current ones. I told him all this and he kept making excuses and still trying to get me to order them and I insisted on my normal ones. H was already using dailies and didn't like them because of dry eye, he looked at his chart and said he wasn't surprised these new ones are so much better.

Then he recommended the exact same ones to H and SD and so now I'm suspicious.

My contacts are "medically necessary" because my prescription is so bad so insurance pays 100%, I wouldn't have had to pay a nothing even though they cost more but H and SD would have.

This is not a new doctor, we've been seeing him since we moved here in 2017 so all the previous lenses he says are horrible are ones he has actually recommended to us in the past lol.

Just curious - how bad are your eyes and what did you have to do to get contacts deemed medically necessary? I have bad eyes (-9.5 in both) and wearing glasses sucks. I developed allergies in the past couple of years (or maybe I've always had them and I just have more exposure now due to a job change), and using dailies really helps to cut down on my eye symptoms. 

I have -10.5 in the right and -11 in the left eye.
I didn't do anything different, last year the eye doc said I met the threshold and they submitted the claim. I'm not sure what the threshold is but maybe if you call your eye insurance they will tell you!

I hate wearing glasses. It gives me headaches and makes me nauseus. Its like being in a fish bowl, so I only wear them from the bathroom to my bed after taking my contacts out at night. I occasionally read or watch TV in bed with them but walking around needs contacts lol.

[treschic]

I just had something very shady happen in regards to a Dr pushing a certain type of contact and reported her to the board. I wear night and days and she pushed me to a new kind “exactly like what I wear except has blue blocking technology”. I even confirmed I could sleep in them. After weeks of being extremely uncomfortable, I looked them up and they weren’t night and days and weren’t even blue light blocking!! So yes, I think there is an incentive to them doing this and in my case she could have ruined my eyes.

[basilosaurus]

It really should be individual. It's about your prescription, eye chemistry, and, equally important, lifestyle.

The annuals I had as a teen that required enzymatic cleaners definitely didn't work for a college student. Sure, they were the cheapest option but also not really for a teen just getting used to them who'd rip them on occasion (like twice a year?) despite being careful. Or a college student who couldn't guarantee the necessary hours for the cleaner to neutralize.

I ended up for years with 2 weeks, pre-lasik, acuvue oasys, that I could safely stretch to 4 according to multiple docs due to my background in cleaning properly. They would try to encourage dailies at one point, but had no problem with my routine, so I declined due to price. I never met resistance. Occasionally some doc would ask if I wanted to trial something newer which I would, but I always went back. I spent nearly 20 years in contacts with as many docs.

Partner, new to glasses and contacts in his 20s (I was 6/15), wasn't going to do anything requiring a schedule, so for eye health and his general squeamishness about sticking a finger in his eyes (seriously, 2 hours for his first visit whereas I did it after having my eyes dilated, so had no near vision, in about 5 minutes), dailies were the best. His dried castoffs left everywhere could fill a dumpster! And he is a mere -1, so he didn't even wear them daily!

My doc encouraged me to order through costco. It was never an issue. So it really wasn't about profit for them.

Of the many docs I've been to, they'll give you samples to see if they work. And they'll swap them to trial another. I did this for awhile before my oasys. Because those were all 2 weeks, that amounted to about 2 months to establish. I don't know how long they give you to adjust with dailies.

If you do have severe dry eye, I loved my restasis. It was essential post lasik. It was covered by insurance, so if you can get that, go for it. You can use it prior to putting in lenses. It's expensive, though, if your insurance doesn't accept.

[stephm0188]

My eye doctor went the opposite direction and suggested ortho-k lenses. They're a hard lens you sleep in and remove every morning. Honestly, it's been life changing. I don't deal with dry or itchy eyes anymore or blurry lenses. Going swimming is much more enjoyable now- I can SEE!